It’s the time of year when students receive their long-sought sheepskin.  Yes, diplomas (Greek for “folded paper”) were originally made from sheepskins since Carthage, known for making fine paper, had fallen to Rome.  (How many graduates know this!)

Perhaps you can still hear the plodding pulse of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” as your class assembled for one last time.  Never again would this group gather in the same number.  Life was about to scatter you in many unknown directions.

Curiously, “pomp” is rarely used without adding “and circumstance.” It refers to a splendid display or public event.  Circumstance is a fact connected to a situation.  So, graduation is a splendid event.

How has your life unfolded in relation to the dreams you had on graduation day?  What’s turned out better than you ever anticipated?  Can you take credit for it?  Was it just “luck?”  Were you simply at the right place at the right time?  Or have you sensed an unseen Hand guiding the facts connected to your situation?’  Could that Hand belong to One who has your very best interest at heart?  Are you at a point where you can acknowledge whose Hand it is?

Could it be the hand of the One who, like a perfect lamb, was sacrificed on a Roman cross to save your skin?  Yes, all we like sheep have wandered off.  Maybe it’s time to scurry back for that big, very public class reunion when absolutely all will attend.  

No more Grade Point Averages on that graduation day..  Just Pass or Fail.